Friday, August 24, 2007

Campaign magazine run a feature this week, maybe influenced by the 7 deadly sins of digital - they home in on the 7 deadly sins of advertising, as illustrated by the most commonly used stereotypes and cliches.Ranging from buffoon dads to single women with cats and 'crowds united for a cause'.What's more remarkable is - how they narrowed the list down to seven.

The article is not online as I write but heres a couple of snippets to give you a flavour.

'Using stereotypes allows advertisers to communicate layers of meaning built up across centuries to a mass audience very quickly'

hmm, perhaps the only mass audience is the one that is fast forwarding past these ads with their Sky+.

'Great advertising shouldn't resemble the act of looking through a window at the world...in a world where we're given so much in the way of horror stories, greyness and hardship, the last thing we need is to see more of that in our ad break'

Er no, we use stuff like Art, Music, Movies to escape, not ads.

'Society still looks to advertising to entertain, promise and show world truths without it's gritty traumas' - the editorial.Well, you wouldn't expect the industry rag to turn on it's own community but...

Maybe this stuff was true 20/30 years ago but the world has changed, consumers have changed and the rules of engagement are different. We are just not paying attention any more.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Got my felt pens out and designed this nifty web 2.0 friendly ;) logo for MediaCamp BUCKS. I'm also pleased to add that I hooked up with Chris Hambly, the founder, to add my (considerable - see fatblogging) weight to any organisational areas where I can be of use.

For anyone reading this who would like to get involved, whether to present, sponsor or to participate in any way - the usual un-conference rules apply (ie there are no rules) - visit the wiki here for more info.

MediaCamp BUCKS is an UnConference with a strong educational flavour for bloggers, podcasters, and new media professionals & amateurs for one day to share, explore, challenge, and grow our abilities in new media.

Monday, August 20, 2007

16st 10lb. another 1lb gone. A big shepherds pie last night probably took the edge off but at least I managed a whole week with only 1 beer - last wednesday (medicinal purposes).Note on sunday: a 3-1 home defeat by the green half of the great unwashed would normally trigger the swift downing of a family size bag of Revels but I managed to resist...keepin' on keepin' on.

Friday, August 17, 2007

What makes a great blog post? the answer is..many things. Up there with the best reasons to post is pure partisan passion and opinion. Chuck in a bit of controversy and make sure you're gonna rile somebody somewhere and your just about there. James Cherkoff sticks it to the dinosaurs of the ad business in fine style over here."The tectonic plates that the marketing industry sits upon have shifted. What adfolk don't get is however great their ideas - no one cares anymore"This gets the NGOTB chocolate watch for inspirational rant of the week.Keep at it mate.

I commented on a recent post by Mitch Joel - from the fantastic 'Six Pixels..' marketing podcast - on the evolution and widespread adoption of the tools of 'user generated content'. At one of the recent concerts by the re-formed lightwieght phoneys of 70s new wave The Police - despite the insights within his post I'm still not sure Mitch really gave a good enough reason as to why he was actually there in the first place ;) - he noted the mass of mobile devices capturing either audio or video at the concert and the subsequent upload to the various channels within hours of the event. Mitch observes 'So, why is there so much User Generated Content? The answer is simple: because they can. Content creation from the User’s perspective is no longer an option. It’s a right… 'Anyway it got me thinking about the same thing that has started happening at the football. Here's a bit of my comment (i've only reproduced it here because i wanted it captured in my own space for posterity)'...the winger goes on a mazy run, beats 3 or 4 defenders, delivers and inch perfect cross to the big striker who powers a thunderous right foot strike into the back of the net past the flailing goalkeeper. as the camera pans to the striker running towards the delirious fans behind the goal...where once there were wild eyed faces of ecstacy with outstreched arms theres a metallic cyborg army of clicking one eyed monsters.'At the end of the day (gratuitous football cliche) the clamour to create content can sometimes get in the way of simply enjoying and consuming. With music and football surely its about immersing yourself in the experience and simply getting off on what it is? Dunno.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Our man in the north, a key mover in the development of the two most important era's in British music, punk and acid house (yes London, the north had it first while you were still rare grooving in bobble hats and flares). Everyone knows the story. Cheers Tony.

Like its distant cousins mentioned above ACID HOUSE MEDIA is a grass roots movement built from the ground up by passionate enthusiasts, bored with the conventional establishment thinking, and determined to build their own scene relevant to their values.

Podcamps are like the illegal raves, popping up in any urban space that can accommodate them. New friends are made in seconds as strangers bond over the sounds of techno bleeps. While the warehouse party generation kept themselves up all night with Ecstacy the drug of choice for the new media generation is another kind of E. Connectivit-E. (behave yourself! – Ed)

Like the payphones in M25 service stations back in the day, Twitter spreads the word among the new media ravers about the latest techno tools to keep the party going.For the hardcore the party continues all day and night in Second Life where people who have never met can rub sweaty semi naked bodies against each other.

Podcasts pump out the message day and night from the tower blocks and council estates.'Big shout out to the new media posse in the area. Keep it locked!'

Meanwhile, as in the first wave of Acid House, everyone is a DJ. Ripping and remixing content then sharing their ‘mixtapes’ via Youtube and Flickr then spreading the word via the superclubs like Facebook, which have sprung up as the underground starts its inevitable journey into the mainstream.

Where does it go from here? Every integrated agency is ramping up digital as the new media marketing rave bubble grows. Every big brand marketing director is asking questions about how they can leverage this cultural explosion.Like Acid House it will not be long before the whole culture is absorbed by the mainstream. Maybe it already has? Maybe we will see the endless fragmentation of sub-genres? Balearic Digital Marketing, Drum’n’Bass Advertising, Handbag PR.

Maybe we won’t care though, because we will already be onto the next thing.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Greg Verdino comments on AdAge's no-shit-sherlock revelation that the t-shirt is a marketing vehicle. Slightly more insightful is Greg's analogy that the t-shirt has more in common with some of the 'key truths' of social-media.sample'Advertisers still think about campaigns as discreet programs with fixed start and end dates -- when the last ad runs or the promotion expires, the campaign is over. (If) t-shirts are forever..'full post here.I'm still after a Twitter shirt if anyone knows where to track one down?

Monday, August 06, 2007

I wonder if anone else is puzzled by whats happening to the bbc news in the morning. I'm up about 5.30 and lately theres been some Australian bloke presenting the pre 6am news. The whole hour is an ego-fest for this guy - shouting at the camera, arms flailing and gesticulating. offering his opinions!This morning he even had the normally MILD MANNERED fella that does the far east financial report upping his 'presentation' so as not to feel left out.I would expect, and have seen, this type of 'news-as-entertainment' on 3rd rate US cable news channels but there should be no place for this bollocks on the bbc.READ THE F*CKING NEWS. If I want entertainment I'll ask for Bruce Forsyth...

last nights weigh in...16s 13lbPoor start, up 1lb from last week.Could have something to do with saturdays beer fest, my mate Adam turned up at the door after being awol for 2 years learning to be a yacht captain.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

In case anyone thought Sky were being a bit quiet on the iptv/broadband delivered tv front (i was one of those) the announcement of the Amstrad purchase reveals all. Now they have brought that relationship 'in-house', and added to the aquisition of Easynet earlier, I would expect some serious vid/content on demand developments sooner rather than later. I'm now sitting back on my order for a Sky+ box - i'd bet they will free before long.